Ye Fan could not find his voice. He could not bring himself to announce what had to be announced. There on the Commander’s Platform he stood alone, opening his mouth several times — only to have the bitterness flooding his throat drive the words back each time.

Those eyes looking up at him — some calm as a deep sea, some sharp as immortal swords, some blazing like flames — they held absolute conviction. They had the confidence to defend their homeland, to declare war on any foe, and they were full of hope for the future. They believed the Celestial Court would grow ever more powerful, that they would build an immortal dynasty with their own hands, one that would awe the ten thousand ages and shine with undying brilliance.

“Commander, there must be a great campaign ahead! Give the order — we will conquer all that stands before us. Where our armies march, victory is certain!”

Someone from the middle generation spoke up — those who had grown alongside the Celestial Court’s rise, who were its most spirited and bold, who had never retreated no matter how great the obstacle.

“Where the Celestial Court advances, victory follows! We are undefeated!”

The army shouted as one, a sound like mountains crumbling and seas crashing.

“Victory in battle, triumph in every assault!”

Every voice roared together. It was like celestial war drums resounding across all of heaven, shaking the four directions, setting the blood surging in every chest.

Weapons of war and iron mounts, cold radiance blazing across the heavens, campaigns waged across nine layers of sky beyond the mortal realm — those times, those great battles, had been drenched in heat and passion. But these people did not know that everything they knew was about to be taken from them.

These were warriors. They had grown alongside the Celestial Court, been tested through blood and fire — every inch of this vast territory had been purchased with their lives.

“I do not know how to begin.”

Ye Fan’s emotions surged violently. Standing on that divine platform, he could no longer restrain his feelings. His voice came out low, subdued.

The Celestial Court’s army, black and vast as a storm cloud, stretched endlessly — banners snapping in the wind, weapons in the hands of soldiers blazing against the nine heavens, every one of them gleaming in armor, martial and magnificent.

“We have encountered some difficulties.”

Ye Fan looked at everyone gathered below.

“Whatever difficulties there may be, give the order — we will press forward without hesitation, watering the stars with our blood!”

Even the composed veterans spoke up. They had walked with the Celestial Court through its most grueling days, following it from its very founding all the way here — they were now the Celestial Court’s most precious treasure.

They were heroes who had survived a hundred battles and never fallen. They did not speak lightly — but once they gave their word, they would fill the road ahead with their lives. Now, sensing Ye Fan’s hesitation and uncertainty, they stepped forward, expressing their resolve without wavering.

“Commander — we live and die with the Celestial Court. No matter who the enemy is — even if it’s the Underworld — give the order, and we will storm our way in!”

The words rang like a hammer striking, resonant as ten thousand celestial blades ringing out together — the unshakeable will and vow of the celestial generals, swearing to advance and retreat and live and die together with the Celestial Court.

Ye Fan was deeply moved. Looking at these undying veterans, the bitterness in his heart only deepened. How could he possibly say the words? But he could not remain silent either. If he did, these men — these heroes who had survived countless battles — would simply perish in the days ahead for nothing.

“The Celestial Court is our homeland. I feel the same as all of you — my bond with it runs deeper than the sea. But we may be facing Supreme Beings. They intend to make their move…”

Ye Fan’s voice traveled across the vast training ground.

Everyone went quiet. The veterans’ expressions grew grave as they listened intently. Those of the middle generation clenched their fists tight — their spirit undiminished. The younger soldiers seethed with indignation, their sword-like brows drawn into fierce lines.

“The Celestial Court has reached where it stands today through the combined effort of all of us. It was paved with the lives of countless brothers — their blood and bones are scattered across the stars…”

Ye Fan’s voice carried a note of sorrow.

“Let us die together with them! We will fight the Celestial Court’s battle to the end — the Celestial Court does not retreat. We will never fall back!”

Many cried out in fury, raising their weapons into the air, resolute to defend their homeland.

Ye Fan looked at these heroes. To have such people serving under him was deeply moving — and yet that emotion only made his heart feel all the heavier, the bond between them impossible to sever or repay. The lump in his throat grew tighter.

“There are words I do not wish to say — but words I cannot leave unsaid.”

Ye Fan raised his voice to thunder, pressing down over every other sound like a burst of heavenly lightning, compelling absolute silence. A decision had to be made.

The crowd sensed what he was about to say. Anxiety spread across every face. Some of them, unable to hold back, cried out: “Commander — you cannot make that kind of decision!”

“Commander — the Celestial Court is everything we have worked for. It cannot be disbanded!”

Face after face filled with fear. Not one of them wanted to see that outcome.

“The Celestial Court will not fall — it will remain standing in the world of men forever!”

Ye Fan declared in a great shout, his eyes growing sharper by the moment — like two beams of solid light, sweeping across all eight directions. Now that the decision was made, it had to be laid bare without flinching — no need to soften anything.

He looked at everyone, slowing his pace of speech, but making each word strike with even greater force: “A temporary endurance does not mean my Celestial Court has ceased to exist. I want to give all my brothers a reprieve — wait for me one hundred years. Give me this time. When that time comes, the Celestial Court will rise again without question.”

“But Commander—”

The crowd grew frantic. They wanted none of this outcome. Voices rose in protest, trying to stop him.

Ye Fan raised one hand. His voice suddenly rang out high and clear: “The Celestial Court will not fall — its banner will fly again. This is my promise. I will reunite with my brothers!”

His battle-spirit surged, a golden tide of vital energy sweeping across the heavens, flooding the entirety of the Celestial Court: “When that day comes, it will be more glorious, more brilliant than ever before. I will make it renowned through ten thousand ages. I will make it immortal among the living world. I will make it stand sovereign over all Supreme Beings. I will make every heaven and every realm bow before it!”

Everyone stared up at that towering platform, watching Ye Fan — who stood there like a god, like a demon, like something beyond all reckoning.

“Believe in me. Give me one hundred years — and I will return to you a Celestial Court more powerful than any that has ever existed. When that day comes, no one beneath these nine heavens and across these ten lands will dare provoke my Celestial Court!”

Ye Fan swore it beneath the star-filled sky.

He poured everything he felt into those words, roaring them with all the force of his being.

“Now we cannot prevail — we withdraw, but only to survive, only to live. The day will come, sooner or later, when we return, and this entire world will tremble because of us.”

“I want you to understand this: the brilliance you see today will mean nothing by that time. The humiliation of today will be nothing but an interlude.”

“In one hundred years, we will return — standing once more beneath the stars, my Celestial Court’s banner never fallen, streaming in the wind, more glorious and brilliant than it has ever been!”

Ye Fan roared with all his strength, his battle-blood surging violently, a great dragon-shaped pillar of light erupting from the crown of his head and piercing up into the ninth heaven above — the land shook violently beneath it, and even the Great Dao trembled.

“There will be a day of reunion. When that day comes, we will truly rise. You will discover that the true campaign has only just begun — because in the days to come, we will wage war across all nine heavens, we will storm our way into one forbidden zone of life after another. That is our true battlefield. What we have now is merely the tempering of soldiers — we are still far from our true brilliance!”

“And the forbidden zones of life are not our only battlefield. Storming the immortal domain, shattering the myths, shaking the eternal in the pursuit of undying life — that is our ultimate goal. Our final battlefield is vaster and greater than any of you can imagine!”

“What does any of this amount to now? It is merely a prologue to our true battle of blazing passion — merely a form of tempering. And here I say this: do not let your martial arts go to waste. When we ask you to endure, we are not truly asking you to lay down your arms and retire to the fields. We are asking you to recuperate. All brothers must understand this: in the future, one vast and magnificent battlefield after another waits for you. Our vision does not end with this age. We aim to stand above all heavens and all ages — for we will build a true Celestial Court, a Celestial Court of immortality and eternal life. We will accomplish a miracle that has never existed since the beginning of all creation, one that makes even the forbidden zones of life tremble in the road before us. They are nothing more than that — they are by no means the ultimate destination!”

Beneath the star-filled sky, upon that training ground, the veteran soldiers who had survived a hundred battles clenched their fists tight. The middle and younger generation of celestial soldiers and generals could no longer hold back — they roared with everything they had. Their battlefield was this vast? Even the forbidden zones of life were not the final destination? The blood surged and the heart pounded.

Without question, it was a vast battle map — a vision from within Ye Fan’s heart. What did any of this amount to right now? It was only a minor skirmish, nowhere near brilliance.

If all of this came to pass in the future, they would truly forge an achievement unlike any in history. A glory imperishable through ten thousand ages was waiting to be opened — a grand ambition lying just ahead.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Perhaps only those three words could express the surging fire in their hearts — their unwillingness, their desire, their longing, their stifled frustration, their excitement — all of it running through their boiling blood, pouring out as one thunderous roar.

“We will come back!”

Ye Fan let those few words close his speech for now. His conviction was absolute, his will unbreakable — and many in the crowd were profoundly shaken.

The glory lay in the future. Everything they had was only just setting sail. A passing storm meant nothing — it would pass. When the day came to soar into the heavens, the river they would leap across would be an immortal river, not the mortal sea of this world. The heroes looked forward to that day with eager hearts.

“Commander — these one hundred years will be terribly hard for you. Can you get through it?”

An old veteran spoke with worry, his voice quiet but cutting straight to the heart of it.

In the one hundred years ahead, Ye Fan would fight in blood battles against Supreme Beings — striving to reach the absolute pinnacle. The danger he would face was beyond imagination. He would be fighting alone, with no one to help.

“Through all the ages, more than one Great Emperor has succeeded. They could defy heaven — and I, Ye Fan, having walked this far, will not be lesser than any of them!”

Ye Fan shouted, making his heart’s desire absolutely clear — to create a miracle. Others had done it. He would do it too.

Some hearts still carried shadows. Of those who had sought to attain the Dao through the ages, there were perhaps more than one would think — yet only those with the most extraordinary fortune and the rarest destiny had escaped death and ultimately succeeded.

Ye Fan’s road was extraordinarily difficult. Would he have that kind of opportunity?

“Three hundred years ago, none of them were able to kill me. Now that it’s come to this point — do you really think they still have a chance?”

Ye Fan said it lightly, affecting an easy confidence — making a show of pure optimism.

Everyone laughed. Seeing him this confident, many felt their hearts ease somewhat, the heavy atmosphere lifting a little.

Yet the Dark Emperor, Pang Bo, Li Heishui, Mountain Phoenix, and the others felt a weight in their chests that would not lift. They could not truly relax. They knew: Ye Fan’s road was too hard. It was not that simple.

This age was different from all that had come before.

In the past, the Supreme Beings within the forbidden zones slept deeply. Ancient Great Emperors perhaps only awakened those sleeping Supreme Beings when enduring their final Emperor’s Tribulation — and by then, it was already slightly too late to stop them anyway.

Of course, some had encountered problems similar to Ye Fan’s.

But this age was entirely different.

The path to becoming an immortal had opened. At that time, virtually all of the Supreme Beings within the forbidden zones had awakened — or near enough. It had only been three hundred years since then, and they had not been able to sink into truly deep slumber again.

At the very least — the Perfect Tyrant Body was watching.

And then there was the Underworld. The Underworld Emperor had been wounded by the Ancient Celestial Court’s First Divine General, had already stirred awake — and would not miss his chance.

And perhaps others as well.

The final three tribulations — through all of history, no one had ever crossed through them in a single stride. Each layer was a mortal trial, requiring one’s very life as the wager. Three great tribulations would stir those half-awakened beings — and great catastrophe would descend without fail.

“The road is made by walking it. I will come back — and that is no miracle. I look forward to the day the Celestial Court’s banner rises, when you all return from fields and mountains, and we build together the first and only imperishable immortal dynasty in all of history — shattering the eternal in the pursuit of undying life, unprecedented and unequaled!”

Ye Fan shouted with all his might, his body and spirit both making his choice unmistakably clear — his voice shook the very stars.